This over a "stupid confrontation" at a park, defense attorney Denise Turner told IndyStar on Thursday. She represented Daniel Cannon, who on Wednesday was found guilty of several counts of criminal recklessness and leaving the scene of an accident with serious bodily injury.

He was acquitted of two counts of reckless homicide, court records show.

The conviction brought some relief but little comfort to the mother of one of the teens killed in the crash.

"There are no winners in my book," said Heather Pitcock, whose daughter Taylor Parsons was driving the other vehicle. "How do you look at this as a victory when these (are the) choices that we now have to live with?"

Cannon, his attorney said, had not even been involved in the initial altercation at the park on April 18, 2017. But that quickly changed when he learned his sister and friend were involved.

After the confrontation, the five teens fled in a car. Cannon pursued them, Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry's office said in a news release.

Turner said Cannon was focused on the car's plates.

"Daniel’s intent was to get their license plate to report them (to police)," Turner said.

Pitcock characterized the confrontation as a misunderstanding. She believes her daughter was focused on getting the other teens to safety.

"I don’t think Taylor intended on anything ever going this far," Pitcock told IndyStar on Thursday. Pitcock said her daughter was trying to protect her friends, who all believed they were in danger.

Witnesses described a car that had been chasing closely behind the teens' vehicle, with both vehicles traveling 100 to 110 miles per hour, court documents said.

When asked why Cannon didn't let the matter go as the chase became more dangerous, Turner says he did — but by then it was too late. The teens' vehicle lost control on I-70 near the Harding Street exit and rolled numerous times, according to court documents.

The crash killed Parsons, 17, and Brandon Gross, 18. Three other teenagers were seriously injured. All three of the survivors testified at Cannon's trial, Turner said.

Turner said the acquittals on the reckless homicide charges stemmed from the teens' lack of safety precautions. After the crash, police said that no one wore seat belts in the vehicle, and all five occupants were ejected as it rolled multiple times.

The teens were so "terrified" after leaving the park, Pitcock said, that they didn't stop to fasten their seat belts before taking off.

An accident reconstructionist testified this week that the crash was survivable had everyone been wearing seat belts, Turner said.

Still, the prosecutor's office noted, the jury found Cannon guilty of causing the crash.

Authorities also learned after the crash that Cannon had returned to the scene while police were investigating but didn't tell law enforcement he was involved, the news release said. Witnesses said Cannon instead asked questions to determine whether police knew he had been involved, according to the release.

“The crash caused by the defendant resulted in the senseless deaths of two teenagers and severe injuries suffered by three others, yet he chose to deny responsibility after he saw firsthand the severity of the incident,” Curry said in the news release.

Turner said a friend close to Cannon testified that the father of three was distraught after the crash and has not been the same since.

Pitcock said her daughter, a junior at Ben Davis, was looking forward to graduating in a year and going to college. She wanted to pursue a career that would allow her to help children, Pitcock said.

Pitcock described life now as a "new normal" for the family.

Gross, whose family couldn't immediately be reached by IndyStar, was a "great young man" who was in ROTC, Pitcock said.

"I feel that no amount of time that (Cannon) could be sentenced could ever pay back for two kids' lives lost and messing up three others that are traumatized for life. We can't get our lives back."

The most serious charges Cannon was convicted of, criminal recklessness if the person committed aggressive driving resulting in death and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, carry sentences of up to six years. A sentencing hearing is set for Dec. 21.